This time of year, rumors and inside information dominate the news cycle. Signings are publicly known long before they’re official. Negotiations are leaked to reporters. The word “interest” is an annual offseason buzzword.
But Major League Baseball does all it can to keep the Draft Lottery results from leaking.
Today’s lottery will happen at 2:30 p.m. CT, but its results won’t be announced until 4:30 during a broadcast on MLB Network. In this media environment, two hours is a long time to keep a secret as juicy as the top pick in the upcoming draft.
So, how does MLB keep that info from leaking?
The participants are literally locked in a room, no cell phones allowed, until the results are announced.
The Guardians got the top pick in last year’s lottery, and our own Zack Meisel wrote an awesome story about what it was like for Ethan Purser, the Guardians representative who was in the “underground dungeon,” and for a couple of hours was the only person in the organization who knew they were picking 1-1.
“The most terrifying thing I’ve done recently,” Purser said.
